SWS: Only 50% of Pinoys expect a happy Christmas amid COVID-19

Only 50% of Filipinos are expecting a happy Christmas in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, results of a recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations showed.

This is the lowest on record, plunging 12 points from the previous record-low of 62% in 2013, 2006, and 2005. Last year, 79% of Filipinos expected a happy Christmas.

Those expecting a happy Christmas are still majorities in Mindanao (65%) and the Visayas (57%), but are only minorities in Balance Luzon (42%) and Metro Manila (36%).

On the other hand, 15% of Filipinos expect this year's Christmas to be sad—a new record-high, surpassing the peak of 11% in 2011. In 2019, only 2% expected a sad yuletide.

The expectation of a sad Christmas is higher among families that experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months, according to the survey. It is also higher among self-rated poor families, and those who believe that their quality-of-life got worse.

Meanwhile, the other 33% of the respondents expect this Christmas will neither be happy nor sad.

Noche Buena for family only, attending church

Top plans for celebrating Christmas 2020 are preparing Noche Buena at home and attending religious services, the SWS survey showed.

In Metro Manila, where almost half of the over 460,000 COVID-19 cases in the country has been recorded, 55% of the respondents opt to have Noche Buena only with their immediate families while 42% plan to go to church to celebrate.

In Balance Luzon, 63% plan to have Noche Buena while 49% plan to participate in religious activities.

Attending religious services is more preferred in the Visayas and Mindanao at 58% and 45%, respectively, compared to having Noche Buena at 53% and 40%.

Only 11% of the total respondents plan to spend Noche Buena with families from other homes, and to give gifts to family and friends.

These results were from the Fourth Quarter 2020 Social Weather Survey which was conducted from November 21-25, 2020, using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide.

The sampling error margins are ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

This is the first Christmas to be spent by Filipinos amid lockdowns, massive loss of jobs, and health crisis posed by the COVID-19 virus. So far, the pandemic has claimed 9,048 lives in the Philippines and vaccine availability is being eyed by March 2021. — RSJ, GMA News